Hole-closure.



D. J. DIEL.

HOLE GLOSURE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 29, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3

VIII/lill.`

W ummm lllllllllll ATTORNEYS DANIEL J'. DIET., 0F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

I HOLE-CLOSURE.

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Application filed March 29, 1913. Serial No. 757,553.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914..

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, DANIEL J. DIEL, a citizen of the lUnited States, and a resident of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Hole-Closure, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to metal or other fireproof constructions, and has particular reference to devices for temporarily or permanently closing certain holes or openlngs in fireproof constructions as, for instance, the holes or openings for the installation of electric conduits or the like. 'Ih-is specific reference 'to the use of the device, however, is to be understood as being illustrative rather than a limitation, for the device is applicable in many different ways and for different specific purposes.

Among the objects particularly aimed at is to provide a` cheap reliable metal closure which may be quickly secured in place, substantially closing the hole or opening, but which may be removed with facility by a suitable simple tool, when necessary, for reopening the hole.

A. further object of the device is to simplify the closure, providing the least possible number of reliable parts, and practically removing the possibility of any part becoming lost or misplaced.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will hereinafter be more fully described and set forth in the claims and illustrated in the drawings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a face view of the closure in` place, a portion of the key, however, being broken away; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view at right angles to Fig. 2, on the line 3-8 of Fig. 1, the View indicating an intermediate stage in the process of assemblage; Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3,

, with the locking keyv in a succeeding stage;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the driven home, and Fig. detached.

The several parts of the device may be made of any suitable materials, and the relative sizes and proportions of the same may t locking key making the closure complete; 6 1s a perspective view of the key be var ied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafter more fully set forth and specilcally claimed.

Referring more particularly to the illustrations, show at 10 a chamber or receptacle which may be understood to be of metal and of such a nature as to render it impossible'for an operation to be made from the inside thereof for thepurpose of closing the hole 11 formed therein. In other words, it 1s to be understood that my hole closure is intended toibe applied to the plate or boX construction, all of the operation being pe:- formed from one side only of such plate. In many cases in practice it is required to close holes of candy boxes, for instance which are all in place and the interiors of which are not accessible for this reason.

The closure includes a substantially flat plate 12, in this case consisting of a substantially circular member incidental, however, to the form of the hole 11. Said plate 12 is made of any form so as to cover the hole aL'l at least a little larger in area so as to provide an overlapping margin 12. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 especially, the plate 12 is stamped or otherwise formed with a series of projections or tongues shown at 13 and 14. The lugs 13 are struck inwardly adjacent the margin 12 for coperation with the rim or edge 1l of the hole 11 for limiting the sliding movement of the plate 12 in one direction viz., at right angles to the line joining the lugs 13. The margin 12 of the plate, therefore, at this partis left entire. The tongue 14, however, is formed from the outer edge of the plate or margin 12 and is bent inwardly and projectable beneath the rim of the hole l1, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, vthese figures indicating the normal form of the tongue 14 as constructed. The plate 12, therefore, may readily be applied to the hole 11 by 'extending the hook end of the key 15 through the hole and then giving the plate a slight slidingmovement, bringing the free end of the tongue 14 beneath the plane of the rim 11', as shown in Fig. ,3. The movement of the key 15 by the operators fingers from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 4 slides the plate 12 and its tongue 14 to the position of Fig. 4, with the tongue projecting beneath the rim 11. Durmg this movement of the key it acts as a lever of the second class, the fulcrum being at the edge of the hole 11 opposite the tongue 14 andwith part of the key just above the fulcrum acting to shove the plate as stated above.

Any suitable means may be provided to lock the closure plate 12 in the position just described. I prefer, however, to employ a key 15 of the form illustrated in which there is formed an angularly shaped hook 16 at one end, a substantially liat bar 17, and a bow-shaped tongue 18 at the opposite end. The hook 16 includes an inwardly projecting stem 16 and a point 16 extending normally at a slight acute angle from the stem and engaging beneath the rim 11 of the box. The stem 16 is so formed to correspond with the thickness of the metal of the box and the plate as to cause a binding ecect between the plate and the box when the key 15 is forced from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that in Fig. 4. This binding effect is intensified by the acute angular formation above described and shown in Fig. 6. The key, therefore, will be understood'to be made preferably of a comparatively soft metal. Byl the provision of the substantially flat bar 17 of the key, the clamping or gripping eiiect of the hook 16 is not relieved when the tongue 18 is flattened out into the form or position shown in Fig 5. In other words, there is no substantial variation in gripping eect of the hook between the positions shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The stem and point of the h ook 16 mayy be caused to operate with the plate 12 inl any suitable way, but as shown herein, there is provided a seat 19 in the nature of a notch or opening formed in the plate ady'jacent the margin 12 diametrically opposite the tongue 14. Theseat is of a width just a little, if any, greater than the width of the key so that when the devices are in nal position there will be practically no opening throught the structure'- Referring again to Fig. 3, will be observed that with the parts as there shown it "s but a simple operation of the thumb to force the tongue i down into contact with the tongue 14 and with the point 18 of the tongue into `teniporary locking engagement with the rim 11 as well as Ain contact with the plate tongue, as shown in Fig. 4. It remains, therefore, but for a lslight tap to be given to the bow 18 to force the point 18 thereof through between the tongue 14 and the rim 11 completing the interlock, as shown in Fig. 5. This operationof the key forces the tongue 14 inwardly slightly out of normal position, making a close tting closure. The key 15,' therefore, positively prevents movement of the plate 12 in either direction parallel to the axis of the key, and the lugs 13 prevent movement of the plate in either direction at right angles to said axis.

So far as the description thus far given is concerned, the plates andthe 'keys Amay be made and used separately, but I have found in practice that there is sometimes inconvenience occasioned by danger of loss or misplacement of the keys when they are not permanently connected to the plates.

To avoid this objection, therefore, I provide the hook portion of each key with lateral extensions 20 which may be formed by operation of the die in the formation of. the key or in'any other suitable\manner,`

wherebythe key is made wider than the seat 19 on the outside as well as on the inside, whereby the key is prevented from longitudinal movement or displacement through the seat opening. The plate is formed with `a pair of lingers 21 which extend outwardly,

as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, but which may be forced inwardly toward each other, as shown in full lines, retaining the key in the seat 19 and hence maln'ng it impossible for the key to be lost from the plate during the ordinary preliminary manipulation of clare as new and .desire to secure by Letters' Patent 1. The herein described .hole closure coniprising a plate larger than the hole, said plate being formed with a pair of oppositely arranged inwardly projecting lugs adapted to substantially engage the edge of the rim of the hole to limit the sliding movement of the plate at right angles to the line joining said lugs, the plate also being provided with an inwardly extending tongue, the free end o i which is adapted to engage beneath said rim, anda bendable key coperatingwith the outer surface of the plate and tongue and engaging within the structure having' the hole-serving to prevent displacement of the plate. 7

2. The herein described closure for a' hole, the same comprising a plate larger than the hole, said plate having parts bent inwardly rfor coperation with the rim of the hole, and a key spanningthe outer surface of the plate and having atV one end a hook serving to gripfone portion of the plate to the. rim of the hole and said key at the other end having a tongue adapted to be forced into .interlocking coperation with the hole rim, securing to the hole rim the portion of the plate opposite said gripped portion.

3. The herein described hole closure comprising a plate adapted to be appliedover said hole, said plate being formed with a coperating with the hole rim, one of said" projections extending beneath the rim, and a key, said key including a hook'at one end adapted to engage the inner surface of the hole rim, and a bar adjacent said hook adapted to lie snugly against the outside of the plate, and a tongue at 'the other end of the key 'adapted to be forced inwardly between the hole rim and the plate projection extending therebeneath. i

4. 'Ihe herein described hole closure comt prising avsubstantially flat plate larger than the hole to be closed, said plate having formed therein a pair of integral studs projecting inwardly from the margin of the plate in to coperation with the edge of the hole rim, said plate also having an integral tongue extending inwardly beneath the hole rim, there being formed in the plate opposite the tongue a Seat, and a key spanning the outside of the plate and having its ends eX- tending beneath and interlocking with* the rim of the hole, one of said ends being eX- tended through said seat and the other end being forced bet-Ween said plate tongue and the hole rim. A l

- 5. In a hole closure, the .combination of a plateI having integral parts adapted to cooperate with and limit the extent of movement of the plate upon a hole rim, and a locking key connected permanently With said plate, spanning'the outside thereof and having its ends adapted to interlock with the under surface of said rim.

6. The herein described closure for a hole lthrough a plate, the same comprising a Hat A metal plate slightly larger than the hole to be closed, said closure plate being provided with an integral tongue extending inwardly from one side thereof and beneath the rim of the hole to be closed, said closure plate being provided with a notch on the side thereof opposite the tongue, and a key spanning the outer surface of the closure plate, one end of the key projecting through said notch and beneath the adjacent hole rim, and the other end of the key being adapted to be forced downwardly into clenching co operation with said tongue beneath the adjacent portion of the hole rim.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence or two subscribing witnesses.

DANIEL J. DIEL.

-Witnesses:

GEO. L. BEELER, PHILIP D. RoLLHAUs. 

